Brooks Briefing
Liberty Park Elementary
Week of April 1st
Coaching Thought(s) of the Week
5 Tips for Getting All Students Engaged in Learning - Short article with some good reminders on creating authentic and meaningful learning experiences. Worth a quick read.
LP Week at a Glance
Monday the 1st
PTA Board Mtg @ 6pm
Tuesday the 2nd
Wednesday the 3rd
Staff Meeting @ 7:30am
Thursday the 4th
Friday the 5th
Pass the Puddin! Who can you celebrate this week?!
Shout out to Bev Stephens and Donata Lux for helping me transition into my new position here at Liberty Park. They both made me feel very welcome. Actually the entire staff here at Liberty Park made me feel welcome. It is nice to walk into such a caring environment! I am so happy to be here!! ~ Kelly Woods
Thanks to Krissy Carson and the STEM Committee for doing a great job of organizing an amazing evert! Also kudos to Mrs. Garrett for getting our 4th graders ready for a super space performance.
Shout out to Mary Helen Frazier for leading the spring book fair! AWESOME Job! ~ Brooks
Ostendorf, I really appreciate you changing around your whole group time to allow for guided reading groups in the classroom. -Daleen
Cooksey, thanks for being brave and trying co-teaching with me! -Daleen
I want to give a shout out to Mrs. Tapper! She helped with one of my students who was struggling with her emotions and helped her talk through what she was feeling. I was so thankful that she was so accommodating to talk with her on a super short notice! You rock!! -Jenna Geib
Third grade is really rocking adding the extra individualized support kids need for 5 to 10 minutes each day. Students are getting direct and targeted instruction (including my sped friends)! -Daleen
April 8th - Kindergarten Round Up @ 5:30pm
April 9th - District STEAM Night @ WCHS 6:00pm
April 10th - Late Start Day - Staff Meeting @ 8:20am
April 11th - Kindergarten Field Trip & Mocktails and Masterpiece
April 17th - Team Leader Meeting @ 3:45pm
April 17th - School Board Showcase: Robotics Team
April 22nd - ILEARN Testing Begins
20 Tips to Help De-Escalate Interactions with Anxious or Defiant Students
WORK AVOIDANCE
Minahan says it’s very common for students to have trouble initiating work, persisting through work and asking for help, but there are strategies to help kids build the skills to get better in these areas. “You can have really bright, able children whose anxiety is interfering so much,” Minahan said. The anxiety isn’t coming from nowhere; it’s coming from prior experiences of feeling frozen and stupid. In that moment the child’s working memory isn’t working, so teachers need to find ways to bypass it until the anxiety passes.
Tip 9: One way is to let students preview the work for the day. In the morning, an elementary school teacher might work on the first few problems with the anxious child so she knows she can do it. Then, when it’s time for that work later in the day, that child receives the sheet she’s already started and can go from there.
Tip 10: At the same time, when the teacher names the strategies a student is employing, he is helping the student build a toolbox that can be used independently. Strategies might include, asking a teacher to help her start when she feels frozen, or asking to preview the homework. For perfectionist students, difficulty starting can stem from a fear of messing up. Give those students dry erase boards, where the mess ups can be easily erased. It helps when teachers treat the difficulty starting as a small problem and say something like, “Looks like you’re not initiating. What strategy are you going to use?”
'When I shift the reinforcement to skills, I've noticed the skills go up and that's what makes the difference for the kids who have mental health difficulties.'
Communication Updates and Info
- Tier 2 - Reminder - We will not be having Tier 2 our first week back from break so that groups can be adjusted andyou have additional time in your day to deliver PBIS Booster lessons.
- K Round Up - Our Kindergarten Round Up is next Monday the 8th @ 5:30pm. We need 5-6 staff members to help out with our K Team for this event. If you are able to help between 5:00 - 6:30 or so that would be great! Please email me if you are available.
- IPADS - Please continue to reach out with any questions regarding your iPads. You can also visit this link to see FAQ and submit your own questions: Warren iPAD Resource Center. Also don't forget that you can contact AppleCare @ 1-800-800-2775 option 3 for questions and technical support.
- Curriculum Mapping Season is around the corner. It's an intensive process which combines curriculum with teacher and student need. This is optional but if you have feedback I would urge you to complete this form: 2018-2019 Curriculum Feedback. This form will be live until the end of April
- RIT Bands - For those of you who "Pinterest".. here is a link to resources organized by NWEA RIT bands. Definitely worth a look.
- Staff Meeting - Wednesday will be focused on PBIS. Please see Mrs. Pardue's email for more info. Session sign up link
Old News: Please review old items to be sure any TO DO items are completed.